Book excerpt | The Art and Science of Frugal Innovation by Malavika Dadlani, Anil Wali and Kaushik Mukerjee

"Mashelkar and Pandit (2018) have defined seven key criteria for a transformational innovation and called it ASSURED—an acronym for Affordable, Scalable, Sustainable, Universal, Rapid, Excellent and Distinctive." (Illustration by Suneesh K.)

Frugal innovations are considered most relevant in the context of BOP consumers, wherein the commercial success is attributed to the large volume of business. Therefore, low cost and affordability not only make an innovation useful to a large section of population, but also ensure profitability. It is because of this characteristic that some attach high importance to the commercial success of a frugal innovation, whereas, for others the success may be defined by its societal value or ability to resolve a particular problem. However, there are only limited examples of truly frugal innovations, like Jaipur Foot, which have significant commercial as well as societal impact. Similarly, the role of scientific interventions in the innovation of a frugal technology may not be very evident in all cases but, their importance in making successful innovations, be it a rotavirus vaccine, dengue detection kit, Lab in a Box or a super basmati rice variety, in one shot or in incremental steps, cannot be undermined.

What makes an innovation a success or a failure?

In order to answer this, we need to understand some fundamental matters. First of all, how do we measure the success of an innovation? Is it the commercial viability, the cost of the product, complexity or severity of the problem it solves, number of people using it or the length of time that an innovation remains relevant?

Mashelkar and Pandit (2018) have defined seven key criteria for a transformational innovation and called it ASSURED—an acronym for Affordable, Scalable, Sustainable, Universal, Rapid, Excellent and Distinctive. According to them, environment, energy and employment are the three vital parameters on which the success of technologies are to be measured. But as pointed out above, one might argue that all frugal innovations may not fulfil the criteria of universality or scalability, whereas the parameters of measuring excellence might be different in case of, say, a grassroot innovation and a science-backed innovative technology. On the other hand, factors not covered by these criteria may play a bigger role, such as cultural diffusion and social acceptance or simply, the relevance of an innovation at a given period of time. Which was a bigger game-changer: the wheel, which has lasted many millennia and is still being innovated upon for newer applications? Or the Internet, the broadest and the fastest technological revolution, which not only erased the barriers of information, distance and time, but also changed human behaviour forever?

And if an innovation is not successful in terms of generating good business, should it be termed unsuccessful? Examining the criteria and factors that determined the success of some S&T innovations in the recent and not so recent past might help us understand this complex phenomenon.

There are many misconceptions surrounding the nature, social acceptability and scientific value of frugal innovation. It is generally believed that frugal innovations are meant to solve problems and challenges faced by people with limited resources. While it is true that affordability at the bottom of the ladder is key to success of a frugal innovation, we also need to acknowledge that every consumer, irrespective of his/ her purchasing power, wants value for money. Therefore, a frugal innovation that is not inferior to its more expensive alternatives will be adopted by users across economic strata. In fact, by adopting a frugal approach, a world class cutting-edge technology can be developed at a fraction of the cost and can directly contribute to sustainability.

When a frugal innovation, based on a sound technology, is successful in fulfilling customer needs in developing countries, it may be expected to be successful in developed countries as well. For example, the portable ECG machine (MAC 400) developed by GE for emerging markets sold well in over 100 countries, including some developed markets like US and China. In this case, good technology, affordability and global acceptability all contributed to its success. Possibly, the fact that it came from GE, a company of high repute and credibility, might also have contributed to its success. Recognizing the market potential for portable ECG monitors, particularly for real-time wireless monitoring in ambulances, healthcare centres in remote villages and difficult terrains, as well as at home in the times of war or natural calamities, this device encouraged many small players and start-ups to innovate cheaper, and at times, better substitutes. An Indian firm, Agatsa Software Pvt. Ltd., introduced credit-card sized ECG monitors SanketLife, which measures ECG in 15 seconds. This twelve-lead small ECG device contains a Bluetooth-based circuit that connects to smartphones or tablets, and results can be sent instantly via email, social media platforms, or SMS for information or medical consultation and is priced at Rs 2500. Utility of such devices increase significantly in epidemic- or pandemic-like situations like the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced millions to remain confined to homes for extended periods.

All cheaper and affordable products or services do not necessarily imply recourse to frugal technology. Developing an affordable version of a product using cheaper/inferior components, or a less efficient technology might prove to be a ‘penny wise, pound foolish’ substitute. In the case of frugal innovation, there is no compromise on technological parameters and this aspect is of utmost importance. More often than not, frugal technology takes years of continuous research, experimentation, successive improvements over the original innovation, many rejections or partial acceptance of the technology by consumers, multidisciplinary collaborations and partnership between many stakeholders before it reaches an acceptable stage. But once it clears all the hurdles, it not only results in a product that is commercially successful, but also brings in due recognition to the innovator. And above all, it reinforces the argument of application of scientific approach in development of frugal innovations. Often in scientific research, the primary objective is to find a viable solution to a problem and develop a technology with specific criteria. However, after achieving the primary goal, and anticipating its potential use in everyday life, researchers work to bring down the cost of the technology by various substitutions, alterations and optimization to make it a commercial success.

A recent example shows the evolution of an innovation, which was founded on an excellent technology and resulted in a frugal product that made an enormous impact on the lives of the people worldwide. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences conferred the Nobel Prize 2019 in Chemistry to the trio of John B. Goodenough (University of Texas, Austin, US), M. Stanley Whittingham (Binghamton University, US) and Akira Yoshino (Asahi Kasei Corporation, Tokyo, Japan) for their extraordinary contributions for over three decades in innovating the versatile rechargeable and powerful lithium ion (Li-on) batteries. These batteries have changed our lifestyle to such an extent that imagining a world without them is difficult today. More importantly, this vital innovation is affordable even to people at the BOP. Li-ion batteries have actually made the success of many more innovations possible. These batteries are literally at the heart of mobile phones, laptops, e-vehicles and spacecraft. These batteries are not only lightweight, but also capable of storing significant amounts of energy even from solar and wind power, promising a world free of fosil fuel.

The Journey of a Battery

In the 1970s, Stanley Whittingham discovered a highly energy-rich material, titanium disulphide, and used it as a cathode along with metallic li as anode. The 2-volt battery thus developed had great potential but was not safe for mass use. John Goodenough predicted that the cathode would have greater application if a metal oxide were used in place of metal sulphide. In the 1980s, he demonstrated that cobalt oxide with intercalated Li-ions could produce as much as 4v. Based on these, Akira Yoshino created the first commercially viable Li-ion batteries in 1985 using cobalt oxide as cathode and petroleum jelly as anode, both having intercalated Li ions. After many years of research, development, testing and validation, Li-ion batteries entered the market in 1991. But research continues till today for subsequent improvement in terms of storage life, efficiency, safety, environment protection and cost reduction.

Excerpted from The Art and Science of Frugal Innovation by Malavika Dadlani, Anil Wali and Kaushik Mukerjee with permission from Penguin Random House India.